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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 9102
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 07:58 am: | 
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Sex scandal stirs racial tensions in southern town
CLINTON, South Carolina (AP) -- The arrest of two women teachers on charges of having sex with their male students has brought cries of lingering racism in one of South Carolina's most conservative counties and evoked some of the South's oldest and deepest-seated racial taboos.
Both women are white. The boys -- six in all -- are black.
Some of the blacks who make up more than a quarter of Laurens County's 70,000 residents are upset over the handling of the two cases, particularly the release of the teachers on bail.
They say the cases reflect the way crimes by whites against blacks in the segregated South were treated less seriously than other offenses, and blacks who leveled accusations against whites were less likely to be believed.
"If this had been black teachers, they would not be out of jail right now," said Corinnie Young, a 49-year-old bookstore employee who is black.
Some blacks shudder to think what would have happened if the teachers were black men and the students were white girls.
"I can assure you if it were an African American male who committed such an offense against a white female, history shows us that the charges, the punishment and the sentencing would be totally different," said state NAACP president Lonnie Randolph. "The system ain't blind when the perpetrator is an African American male or female or when the victim is a white female."
Prosecutor defends home detention
Jerry Peace, the county prosecutor and a white man, said that the teachers are wearing electronic tracking devices and that their release on bail -- $125,000 for one, $110,000 for the other -- was based not on race, but on the danger to the community and the likelihood that the defendants might flee.
In any case, it would be unusual for someone accused of such a crime to be held without bail. Deborah Ahrens, a visiting professor of criminal law at the University of South Carolina, said of the bail amounts for the two teachers: "For the clients that I've represented in the past that were up for similar offenses, that sounds about right."
Signs of racial tension, old and new, are not hard to find in Laurens County. The school where one of the teachers worked used to be blacks-only.
In the town of Laurens, where one of the teachers taught, an old movie theater has been converted into a Ku Klux Klan museum and paraphernalia store called The Red Neck Shop. There, visitors can buy Confederate flags and bumper stickers, such as one that depicts three Klansmen and reads "The Original Boys in the Hood."
Textile mills were once the chief source of jobs in the working-class area about 60 miles northwest of the state capital of Columbia, but the industry went into decline in the 1990s. The main employers now include a maker of plastic coolers and Presbyterian College in Clinton. As of 2003, nearly 15 percent of county residents lived below the poverty line.
Mom complains of sex with 11-year-old
And as in many communities, most neighborhoods in the county are either black or white. People of different races find themselves side by side in one of two places: work or school.
Wendie Schweikert, a 37-year-old married woman who had been teaching elementary school in Laurens for more than a decade, was arrested last year after the mother of an 11-year-old boy accused her of having sex with the boy at school at least twice.
Authorities said they found evidence bearing his DNA in her classroom. She is also accused of having sex with him in her car near a miniature golf course and arcade in Greenville, about 40 miles away.
Allenna Ward, a 24-year-old minister's daughter in her second year of teaching, was fired February 28 after she was charged with having sex with at least five boys.
Some of the alleged victims, 14 and 15 years old, were students at the middle school in Clinton where Ward taught. Police say Ward, who is married, had sex with the boys at the school, at a motel, in a park and behind a restaurant.
Attempts to contact the women in person and by telephone were unsuccessful, and their lawyers did not return repeated calls.
Black and white residents alike said they are shocked by the accusations. Many echoed the sentiments of Peggy Hawkins, a 50-year-old white resident. "Boys are boys and she done wrong," Hawkins said of one of the teachers.
Some see racism at work
The Rev. David Kennedy, a local black activist, is among those who see racism at work. He said the white teachers accused of preying on black students figured "they can do what they want to do with them and they know the consequences won't be great."
He suggested that blacks in town are too afraid to speak out: "There's a long history of intimidation and it's a sin. It's unholy in Laurens County to speak out."
Parents whose children go to E.B Morse Elementary School, where Schweikert taught, say they have trouble reconciling the accusations with the woman they knew.
"She was very involved," said Shea Mills, whose son attended the school. "I remember she would make kids pick paper up in the halls."
Bell Street Middle School Principal Maureen Tiller said Ward did well during an evaluation of her skills, and "personality-wise she seemed to be fine."
Nicole Sullivan, whose daughter went to Schweikert's school, said that when the case broke, students brought home notes saying the teacher had resigned. The notes did not explain why.
"I don't want to say it was a racial thing, but if it were a white victim and a black teacher, I think things would have been handled differently," said Sullivan, who is black.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
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Latina_wi
Regular Poster
Username: Latina_wi
Post Number: 324
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 09:29 am: |
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I am always disgusted at the way paedophile teachers cases are handled. I think harsher sentences are needed so people realise that the law isn't ramping with child molestors (at leats in the UK anyway).
To me this is just another case of female paedophile teachers getting off, this time with a racial twist.
I am sure if it was white male teachers who done the same thing then the sentences would be slightly harder, however, black male teachers doing this to little white girls??! Can anybody say 'lynch that negroe from the highest tree' because I am sure we would have something tantamount to that! |
A_womon
Veteran Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1444
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 09:47 am: |
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I agree Latina Wi--It's so very sad but true! Women Pedophiles are NEVER taken as seriously as male ones, with the exception of a couple of high profile ones like( mary jo Latorneaux(sp)
Also African American males have eternally been given much much harsher sentences than thier white counter parts. Like a 24-year-old young AM male here was given 150 years with no parole for breaking into a white rich couple's home and making them strip before robbing them and tying them to chairs. Now, he didn't beat them, didn't touch them in fact, the woman wasn't raped, the young man had never committed a crime before this one. But he is doing 150 years with NO POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE. Because the judge (a white female) wanted to send a message "Don't go into our rich white neighborhoods and commit a crimes of any kind"
Now we all know that he should have been punished for breaking and entering, robbery--but 150 YEARS WITH NO PAROLE? |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 9103
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 10:14 am: |
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Yeah. We ALL know were the races/colors swapped here, much HARSHER punishment would be meted out.
A_womon.
I think you’d probably have to add kidnapping and/or illegal imprisonment and, perhaps, threats to commit murder to dude’s breaking & entering, robbery and, probably, grand theft convictions.
Still, I’d agree that 150 years seems quite harsh, given that MURDERERS often get a FRACTION of that time.
"Police say Ward, who is married, had sex with the boys at the school, at a motel, in a park and behind a restaurant."
What a NASTYa$$ skank! |
Urban_scribe
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Urban_scribe
Post Number: 399
Registered: 05-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 10:33 am: |
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What amazes me is how long these cases take to come to light. People just don't wake up one morning and say, "I think I'll molest a child today." They almost always have a history of committing such heinous offenses against children. So my question is, why aren't these teachers more carefully screened and investigated? Why aren't their backgrounds more thoroughly looked in to before they're given a license to interact with our children?
As a teacher:
- The pay sux.
- They take work home every-single-day.
- The kids disrespect them.
- The parents are often uncooperative; worse than their kids.
- The salary doesn't justify the education required to become certified.
- It's difficult to secure a homeowner's or car loan on a teacher's salary.
- Schools are poorly funded, short on supplies, outdated textbooks, overcrowded classrooms, etc.
- Those who can't do teach.
So, tell me again why you're interested in becoming a teacher? Could it have anything to do with being closer to your prey? I realize that's a very cynical stance to take, but WE'RE TRUSTING THEM WITH OUR KIDS. Cynicism and skeptism are called for. If it were up to me, I'd investigate potential educators from the day they first sneezed.
Don't misunderstand me. I have friends and relatives who are teachers. I believe that teaching is an honorable profession - when chosen for the right reasons. I'm blessed to say I've had teachers and professors who've positively affected my life. But c'mon, man, our country's educational system is really dropping the ball when we have child molesters masquerading as teachers running amok in our schools. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 9105
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 11:00 am: |
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U_S,
I agree we should do what we reasonably can to ensure our school children are not being exposed to child molesters and other sorts of reprobates. But I wager that MOST of these molesting teachers had NOTHING within their records that assert or even infer they'd be sexing children. Unfortunately, I think this is one of those things that we're not going to be able to protect our kids from until AFTER some sex-starved teacher screws a kid.
Maybe more can be done in the way of attempting to, say, profile who is/isn't inclined to become a molester. But clever lawyering will chew that sh*t to shreds. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 9106
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 11:04 am: |
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U_S,
And you presented what maybe a material part of the problem her WITHOUT providing any an methods of resolution: What do we do about the fact that the teaching profession as it's current constituted is NOT inclined to draw the best, and brightest from amongst us.
If the system is inclined to draw a type who more likely to molest, what do we do to expand our teaching pool to include many more of those who'd never think of doing such? |
Urban_scribe
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Urban_scribe
Post Number: 400
Registered: 05-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 11:05 am: |
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Abm wrote:
Unfortunately, I think this is one of those things that we're not going to be able to protect our kids from until AFTER some sex-starved teacher screws a kid.
Sadly, you're right. This appears to be the way it works - the law, schools, politicians, advocates, activists, and parents ALL step in AFTER the damage is done.
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Latina_wi
Regular Poster
Username: Latina_wi
Post Number: 326
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 11:05 am: |
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Paedophiles are sneaky fcukers guys. They know what they do is wrong (though many believe it is right and feel it is society at fault) and therefore develop very sneaky tactics to ensure that their behaviour is not detected. |
Yukio
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yukio
Post Number: 2187
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 11:21 am: |
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well...here is a chance for the NAACP, no? |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 9109
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 11:41 am: |
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Latina_wi,
Indeed. Many of them know WHOM to molest just as much as HOW to molest. That's why they've usually molested LOTS of kids before they're eventually caught.
Yukio,
Hmmmmmm?
Yeah. I suppose it is. |
Urban_scribe
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Urban_scribe
Post Number: 401
Registered: 05-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 11:52 am: |
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Abm wrote:
And you presented what maybe a material part of the problem her WITHOUT providing any an methods of resolution: What do we do about the fact that the teaching profession as it's current constituted is NOT inclined to draw the best, and brightest from amongst us.
If the system is inclined to draw a type who more likely to molest, what do we do to expand our teaching pool to include many more of those who'd never think of doing such?
When I was in HS, some twenty-odd years ago, I was very interested in becoming a teacher myself - believe it or not. Back then there was an elective at my HS called "Future Teachers of America." Students who signed up for the elective were required to spend 2 school days each week and go into elementary and JH schools and assist the teachers; get an inside, hands-on look at what being a teacher REALLY required.
Many students dropped out of the program when they experienced having to control bad-ass, unruly kids, dealing with parents with bad attitudes, kids who didn't bring/couldn't afford proper supplies and no extra supplies in the schools to loan/give the kids, not enough textbooks to go around (students often had to share), and I can go on another two pages with all the inadequacies, but you get the idea.
The "Future Teachers" who stayed, (I'm proud to say I was one of them), were the dedicated ones. We were the ones who made the best out of a bad situation; the ones who often funded necessary learning tools out-of-pocket, which we were never reimbursed for by the BOE or the parents or the teachers we assisted. For the past 15 years, the "Future Teachers" program has been defunct, due, of course, to lack of funding. (Ain't that a b!tch!)
But I think a possible solution, even if a small solution, is to screen potential teachers for community activism as young adults. What did these would-be educators do with their youth? Were they productive? Proactive? How so? What, beyond having the necessary education to teach, would indicate that this person really gives a damn?
Y'know in my position at work, I have the authority to hire and fire. When hiring, I really don't care if the candidate has an MFA from Columbia. I'm interested in their hobbies, social clubs they belong to, how they spend their downtime, what did they enjoy doing when they were kids. I find that tells me a lot more about the character of the person I'm dealing with than the initials after their names.
I would love to teach, I really would. But, straight up, the money ain't worth the headache. Instead, I volunteer. All my kids love me and their parents love me. They'll all tell you, "Miss G. don't play." I've cussed out the principal at my school, school security, the teachers, the parents, AND the kids. But my word is my bond, I don't sugarcoat sh!t, I give everyone the utmost respect, I don't talk down to my kids, I go before the BOE board of directors and fight like a rabid dog for funding, I raise monies for the school and other programs I'm not even involved with, and I get done what I set out to do. So, at the end of every school term for the past 6 years, they say to me, "Please come back next year. We need you here." I've been offered a salaried position, but I turned it down because I can't earn the money teaching to live the way I like living. So, it's something I do in my spare time because it makes me feel good, and I believe I'm making a positive difference. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 9112
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 12:25 pm: |
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U_S,
I definitely agree that many of the teaching applicants who have histories of performing public service probably would be good teachers.
But does one having a record of public service mean one's LESS inclined to molest than those applicants who have little-to-no history of community activism? Perhap...but I don't know.
Moreover, were all (or even most) of the teachers who've been caught molesting kids bad, ineffectual teachers? Again. Perhaps...but I don't know.
You present a thorough personal thesis of the problems with improve the pool of potential teachers. And you apparently live what you preach. Perhaps if there were more of us like you, our schools would be better and safer.
Thanks.  |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 8128
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 02:11 pm: |
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Quite a testament, Urban-Scribe! Allows me to chalk one up for my instincts. I always got good vibes from your "persona". I'm inclined to think that good teachers are born, not made. Going by the book and being proficient in your subject doesn't always enable a teacher to establish rapport with students. As far as I'm concerned, a teacher's ability to communicate effectly has to do with having a natural talent for including relevancy within the context of teaching. They also say pedophiles are born not made, and these predatory female teachers gravitate to an environment flush with victims for them to prey upon, the same way Catholic priests do. Their teaching skills whether good or bad are just incidental. |
Misty
Veteran Poster
Username: Misty
Post Number: 871
Registered: 02-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 09:18 pm: |
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women tend to get away with this mess rather the children they harm are black or white. |
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